My Town: Oakland

Fremont man arrested after police say he tried to hang girlfriend from tree

By Erin Ivie eivie@bayareanewsgroup.com

Posted:
11/27/2012 06:46:37 AM PST

Updated:
11/27/2012 08:27:51 AM PST

FREMONT-- A Fremont man was arrested on attempted homicide charges Sunday after police said he tried to hang his girlfriend from a tree in his backyard.

About 5:50 p.m., police received a 911 call from a hysterical woman on the 41500 block of Beatrice Street frantically stating that her boyfriend, later identified as 31-year-old Daniel Howard, had tied her up and that she was in the backyard. The woman provided dispatchers with the exact address before the phone disconnected, police said.

Officers arrived and found the woman tied to a tree with a rope fashioned as a noose around her neck, with both hands bound behind her back, police said. The suspect was standing behind her using the woman as a shield when officers arrived, while continuing to wrap the rope around her neck.

As officers closed in, the man pushed his girlfriend toward an embankment, throwing her to the ground where officers caught her, police said. The suspect jumped over a side fence and ran through several neighborhood backyards before being caught and arrested by officers.

The woman was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, police said. Howard was booked into Santa Rita Jail on a charge of attempted homicide.